The reference to “growing rich” is telling. The mindset of “Babylon” was all about generating a paradise on earth without God. To the human mind generating a paradise involves wealth, having an abundance to satisfy any want or need. Though these sailors carried in their ships the expensive goods the elite craved (Revelation 18:12–13), they themselves also received and pursued a level of wealth to satisfy their own yearnings. In other words, they had fallen for the enticements of the prostitute and sought their happiness away from the Creator.
19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste.